Would you turn with me to 2 Timothy?
2 Timothy chapter 2. In just a moment we'll read just
one verse here in 2 Timothy 2. This was Paul's last epistle
to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy. In chapter 4 he said
the time of his departure was at hand. He would soon leave
this world, as he said, in another place, be absent from the body
and be present with the Lord. With all the uncertainty there
seems to be in our day, It seems that we're on a constant, constant
basis bombarded with bad news. Sometimes Robert and I will be
watching the evening news and I'll say I'm tired of hearing
it. Turn the channel. It's all bad. Viruses and elections and things
like that. It is so good to hear this sweet
promise we find here in 2 Timothy 2 verse 19. And we're going to read it by
itself, and then in a moment we'll consider it in its immediate
context. But look at it with me. Verse
19, Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure. Having this seal, the Lord knoweth
them that are his. And let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity." It doesn't matter
what preceded that text, does it? Does it matter what went
before it? And of course it speaks of the
false teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus concerning the resurrection,
that it was past. Then Paul says, it doesn't touch
this. regardless of what they say,
regardless of their false teaching, nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure. And brothers and sisters in Christ,
wherever now finds you at this very moment, whatever difficulty
you may be facing, whatever burden, heavy burden you may be bearing,
What storm you might be passing through. Someone wisely said
that the believer, a true child of God, is either coming out
of a storm or going into one. Our Lord said, in the world you'll
have tribulation. But wherever now finds you, it
doesn't change this blessed truth. Nevertheless, Nevertheless, the
foundation of God standeth sure." The foundation of God. Hmm. That's just got a comfortable
ring to it, doesn't it? The foundation of God. That sounds
sure. That sounds secure. That sounds
unchanging. That sounds like something I
can fall down on and rest, as we sang a moment ago. There is
a hymn in your hymn book. How firm a foundation. How firm
a foundation. I did a little history, a little
reading rather, of the history of that hymn. It was written
in 1787. That's when it first appeared
in a volume of hymns. But nobody knows who wrote that.
At the time they tried to find out and they couldn't. You'll
just see a big K there above the hymn. They don't know who
that is. It seems to make the text even
more precious, doesn't it? Nevertheless, the foundation
of God stands sure. He knows those who are His. He knows who wrote those precious
words. How firm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.
What more can He say than to you He has said, to you who for
refuge to Jesus have fled?" The foundation of God. Oh, I know
this. I know this. And I'm thankful
that it's so. if a believer's relationship
to God Almighty." Now that's a mouthful. I just said a mouthful,
didn't I? A sinner can have a relationship
with God Almighty, the true and living God, the only God. If a believer's relationship
to that God was determined by or dependent upon anything other
than his union with God's Son, we would have no hope. If it
was determined by or dependent upon anything in the sinner,
Other than the sinner's Savior, we would have no reason for this
sweet, nevertheless, we find in our text. The success of God's
salvation is not determined by the sinner, but the Savior. Call His name Jesus. He shall
save. Nobody else can. Oh, this is
another sweet nevertheless. Like those blessed buts we find
in God's Word we mentioned this morning. But God, but God, this
is another such word as that. Nevertheless, no matter what,
God's foundation stands sure, certain, unchanging. For example, in Psalm 73, we
have another one of these sweet nevertheless. In Psalm 73, we
read the confession of a child of God. Now whether it was Aesop
that wrote the psalm or whether it was David and it was given
to Aesop to be used in the worship of God, it really doesn't matter.
It was a child of God. This was a believer making this
confession. And you know what the essence,
the nature of his temptation was? He was envious at the wicked. Now you imagine if it was David.
Someone this young, the youngest of Jesse's sons, was chosen by
God, raised up by God, ordained by God to be the king over Israel? You read about that this morning,
didn't you, Gary? Oh, when Nathan told him that
from his loins God would raise up a son? Oh, a greater than
Solomon is here. The Lord Jesus Christ was pictured
there, but when David got the news, he was king, but he went
in and sat before God like a little child. He just sat down. Who
am I, O Lord? Who am I? Who am I? And what is my house that you
would do such wondrous things for me?" And yet, yet, after
all that, he says, I was envious at the wicked. Here's a man that
had the riches of God's grace and he looks over at his neighbor
and sees he's got some material things. Just things. A rich man dies. And they say,
I wonder how much he left behind. He left it all behind. Every
bit of it. And David or Asaph said, as a
child of God, I was jealous of them. And then he went into the
house of God. He got into the presence of God
and came back to his senses. And that's when he made this
confession. So foolish was I. This is a believer talking. So
foolish was I, verse 22, and ignorant. I was as a beast before
thee. Now there's confession. There's
confession wrought by grace. And there is no doubt. that there is not a child of
God, then or now, or here, this one preaching to you, those I'm
preaching to, that hasn't had to make the same confession.
Oh Lord, I was so foolish. I was so ignorant. I was as a
beast before you. Oh, but look at verse 23 and
24 of that same Psalm. Here it is. Nevertheless I am,
Nevertheless, it's true, God, I was foolish. It was true, God,
that I was ignorant. It was true that I acted no better
than a beast before You, after all You've done for me. Nevertheless,
I am. Not that I was, but I'm not anymore. No, I've crossed the line. God,
He's going to wipe His hands clean of me. He's had enough. He'll cast me out. Oh no, no,
no, no. Nevertheless, I am. I never cease
to be. As the sister sang a moment ago,
isn't that a wonder? There's never been a time that
God didn't love me. He loved me before I knew Him.
He loved me before I was saved. And He's loved me since He saved
me in spite of myself. What mercy! What abounding grace
and love! Nevertheless, I am continually
with Thee. There's not a break in God's
love. His mercy is new every morning. And David wrote, Thou is holding
me by my right hand. You've not let me go. Thou shalt
guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory."
David says, my soul, nothing's changed. Nothing's changed concerning
God's love and purpose for me. What a sweet word this is, nevertheless. Look across the page here in
2 Timothy chapter 1. You have another instance of
this again. Look at verse 11. Paul writing,
and he said, Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and
a teacher of the Gentiles. Well, Paul, did they appreciate
you? Did they roll out the red carpet? Did men appreciate your
labor, your sacrifice? Oh, no. Paul said, That's why
I'm in prison. For the witch calls, verse 12,
I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, nevertheless, I'm
not ashamed. I'm not ashamed. Why, Paul? Why wouldn't you be ashamed?
For I know whom. Not what, I know whom. What would be a cold sort of
comfort for the apostle sitting in that dungeon cell without
a cloak to warming, getting ready to face the executioner's axe? Oh, things wouldn't comfort His
heart. Things wouldn't be of any solace
to Him. Oh, but whom? The Lord Jesus
Christ, that was. That was. I'm not ashamed because
I know whom I had believed and knowing Him. Knowing who He is,
I'm persuaded, I'm convinced, I have no reason not to be, that
He's able to keep that which He's committed unto me against
that day. Yes, nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure. And even in Paul's circumstances,
he could see It is well with my soul." Yes, he was in prison. They could lock Paul in, but
they couldn't lock Jesus Christ out. As our Lord said, I will
come to you. I will come to you. He sent his
disciples into the world to preach the gospel and he said, Lo, I'm
with you always. Always. Always, even until the
end of the world. There's two things here in our
text. First, you have this abiding foundation. The foundation of
God stands sure. And here's another thing. The
inscription stamped upon that foundation. It's this. The Lord
knows them that are His. You have the foundation and you
have the seal on that foundation. First consider, the foundation
of God standeth sure. Well, why wouldn't it? Why wouldn't it? It's the foundation
of God that makes it sure. It's God's foundation. Why wouldn't
it be sure? Why wouldn't it be eternal? Why
wouldn't it be secure? Why couldn't I fall down on it?
It's God's foundation. My wife sometimes when she wants
me to, or she thinks rather, that something she's told me
or something she wants, you know we're supposed to be mind readers,
husbands, Y'all know, say amen, you know it's true. But when I fail to realize what
she's saying or thinking, she'll look at me and say, well Larry,
duh. Duh! When I hear that, I know, Larry,
I'm in trouble. Duh! It's obvious. It's obvious. The foundation of God stands
sure. Duh! That's obvious. It must be so. Psalm 102 verse
25, "...of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of thy hands. And what is true
concerning the natural creation is true concerning salvation
and providence. God's foundation stands sure."
And here it is, Isaiah 28, verse 16, "'Therefore thus saith the
Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, I'm doing this,
God says. This is my doing, not yours. You've got nothing to do with
it. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tribestone,
a precious cornerstone. Oh, that can only be speaking
of one. I can only be speaking of one, and he applied that very
verse to himself, the Lord Jesus Christ did, didn't he? A precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation, and he that believeth on him
shall not make haste. When I read those words, those
that are built on this foundation, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone, When I read that he that believeth shall
not make haste, I think of it as telling us, just calm down. Just calm down. God's in control. You know, we hear the expression,
so-and-so, well, they've got this. Or I've got this. God's
got this. Everybody just calm down. 1 Corinthians 3 and 11, For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, what God's already
laid, which is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. On Christ the solid
rock I stand. Does that mean I won't endure
storms? Oh no, most assuredly I will. Oh yeah. Storms, winds,
rain, trials, from above, from below, all around me. But I know
this, if I'm standing on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, I
will never, I will never be swept off. It's not possible. It's
not possible. Not with this foundation. The
foundation of God is His eternal purpose of grace that's committed
into the hands of His Son, the only one worthy enough to fulfill
it, the Lord Himself. That's what He told Peter, didn't
He? Peter, whom do men say that I am? And the apostles say, well,
some are saying you're John the Baptist risen from the dead.
There's a rumor that you're Elijah, or one of the prophets. That's
what they're saying. And he said, who am I to you?
Who am I to you? Gary, who is Jesus Christ to
you? James? Child of God, if you can get
in Peter's shoes and say with Peter, I know who you are. Let the rumors persist. Let other
people say what they will. Think what they will. Assume
what they will. I know better. I don't care what
they're saying. I know who you are. You're the
Christ. You're the Messiah. You're the
Son of the Living God. You're the one we read about
in the Old Testament. You're the one was prophesied
of. You're the one we've looked for. I know who you are. Oh,
you remember what our Lord said to Peter? Oh, Peter, be happy. Blessed. Blessed Peter, my Father
has revealed to you who I am. You're a blessed man. You're
a blessed man. You're looking at a blessed man.
Peter was no more blessed than I am. Because my soul, God Almighty,
revealed to Larry Criss. My daddy was a coal miner. Back
in the mountains of West Virginia, James Christ, you never heard
of him. You'd have never heard of me, except for the grace of
God bringing us together. But God Almighty, I mean, a barefooted
coal miner's son running up and down the hollows of West Virginia,
God Almighty loved me with an everlasting love. Wow! That makes me want to do like
David, just sit down and say, Oh my God! Who am I? What am
I? Then you would have such mercy
and love me everlastingly. And Jesus Christ your Son came
here for me, especially for me, and lived for me, and died for
me, and ascended for me, and intercedes for me. And not only
that, He wants me with Him where He is. Wow! My soul, what a foundation,
what a sure foundation. The foundation of God doesn't
rest on man's decision. No, I chuckle, but it's really
not a laughing matter, is it? Decisions are upon a man's religious
rituals, are upon man's will, but on Jesus Christ who shall
not fail. Behold, My servant, he shall
not fail." And that faith, the faith of God's elect, is the
operation of God. It's the operation of God. Faith. People talk about simple faith,
easy faith. I had people tell me that when
I was seeking God's grace, seeking mercy, seeking His Son. They talked to me like faith
was inside me. And all I had to do was just
grunt enough and try enough and just reach in there and old fallen
Adam and find faith. Man, that could have been further
from the truth. Faith is God's operation. It's
the operation of God. Faith is a gift of God. And if
God doesn't give it to you, you don't have it. If you believe
on the Son of God, it's because God Almighty operated on your
heart and dropped in the gift of faith. Otherwise, you could
not and you would not believe on the Son of God. Therefore,
to God be the glory. Great things He has done, He
did it all. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto Thy Name give glory for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's
sake. What a great comfort to us. that
the unbelief of men cannot make the promise of God of none effect."
That's what Paul said here, didn't he? All the attacks which the
powers of darkness have ever made upon the doctrine of the
glorious gospel of Jesus Christ hasn't shaken it. Not in the
least. It stands firm. It weathers all
the storms which has ever been raised against it. And you and
I both know, believers, that down through the centuries, generations,
there's been men come forward claiming that they can prove
that Jesus Christ really wasn't divine. He really wasn't the
Son of God. He was just a good man. And sad
enough, most of these so-called I don't know what to call them.
Or theologians. Theologians. How about that? Have degrees. I remember my dear
pastor, Brother Don Fortner. Tell me one time there was a
man, his name was Twiddley, and he got him a Doctors of Divinity
degree and they called him Dr. Twiddley D.D. I can just see Don now telling
you that story, that big laugh of his. But it doesn't make any
difference. What they say, what they claim
to know, the foundation of God stands sure. And to all those
who say that Jesus Christ is not God, here's His answer. I am the Lord and there is none
else. There is no God beside me. I am the Lord and there is none
else. I form light and I create darkness. I make peace and create
evil. I, the Lord, do all these things."
Whether Dr. Twiddley D.D. likes it or not,
he said, I am God and there is none beside me. And the child
of God delights to have it so. Does he not? I'm thankful that
the captain of my salvation is steering this vessel of grace.
And that's why I won't go down. When he says, let us pass over
to the other side, we read, and they came over to the other side.
Yes, they endured a storm, but before the disciples in that
boat could have drowned, Jesus Christ would have had to went
down with them. He would have had to drown. And that's just
not possible. No wonder, he said. My sheep,
my sheep, all the sheep that my father gave me, they're in
my hand." Oh, that's the hand of omnipotence. That's the hands
of sovereign majesty. Now who's going to pluck them
out of His hand? No, no man, He said, shall pluck
them out. It doesn't make any difference
what the Theologians may claim to have known or learned or tell
us the foundation of God stands sure. No truth of God has ever
been destroyed by all the fires it has ever passed through. It
shines all the more brighter, does it not? I ran across this
several years ago and I saved it. It's called the Anvil of
God's Word. I liked it, I think you will
too. A little poem. It says, last eve I paused beside
the blacksmith's door and heard the anvil ring the clear chime. Then looking in I saw upon the
floor old hammers worn with the beating years of time. How many
anvils have you had, said I, to wear and batter all those
hammers so? Just one, said he, and then with
twinkling eye, the anvil wears the hammers out, you know. And
so I thought the anvil of God's Word, for ages skeptic foes have
beat upon. Yet though the noise of falling
bows was heard, the anvil is unharmed, but the hammers are
all gone. Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my word shall not pass away. So shall my word be that goeth
out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish." I like that. It shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto
I send it." The foundation of God is His eternal decree, His
purpose of grace, and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter
1 again of this epistle, verse 9, This sums it up very well. Who has saved us, God, who has
saved us and called us with the holy calling, not according to
our works. Oh boy, don't you like that? Brad, don't you like that? That
it's not according to your works. Aren't you glad that tonight
when you lay down and look back over this day and see the sin
you've committed in mind and thought and word and deed, aren't
you glad that your salvation is not according to works? Then
what is it according to? This sure foundation, but according
to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ
Jesus, watch out now, before the world began. You mean it's
not determined by my will in time? No, it's determined by
God's will in eternity past. And He brings it to pass in time,
what He purposed before the world began. Oh, what a Savior. What a mighty God. I believe
I can trust Him. Sound like he's trustworthy,
isn't it? Oh, for grace to trust him more. In the Song of Moses
in Deuteronomy chapter 32, we read this, Give ear, O ye heavens,
and I will speak. And hear, O earth, the words
of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the
rain, and my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain
upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass, because
I will publish the name of the Lord. Ascribe ye great unto our
God. He is the rock, not a rock. He is the rock. His work is perfect. For all His ways are judgment.
A God of truth without iniquity, just and right is He. Oh, it is sweetness itself, is
it not, brothers and sisters, that there is something under
your feet? There is something substantial, something abiding,
something sure, certain, everlasting. The foundation of God stands
sure. Psalm 46, "...though the earth
is removed, and though the mountains are carried into the midst of
the sea, though the waters thereof roar and are troubled, and though
the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, yet will we
not fear." Everybody just calm down. For the Lord Jehovah changes
not. Oh, I like that. That's sweet.
One of my favorite old hymns. Oh, when the storms of life are
raging, stand by me. Oh, and they do rage sometimes. When the storms of life are raging,
stand by me. Oh, when this world is tossing
me like a ship upon the sea. Oh, thou there, rudeless wind
and water, stand by me. Oh, how often, how often. And
we can all bear witness to this. in our own experience of God's
grace. How often has our Great Shepherd
come walking on our stormy sea, when we thought we were going
down for the last time, and we hear Him say, it is I, it is
I, it is I, don't be afraid, I got this. Oh, thank God we
serve such a mighty God and Savior. Here's the second thing. Having
this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. You have the foundation,
then you have the inscription on that foundation, stamped there
by the mighty finger of God. Paul represents this foundation
stone as bearing an inscription on it, like the stone mentioned
by the prophet Zechariah, where we read this, I will engrave
the graving thereof, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove
the iniquity of that land in one day. Oh, what a text. In one day, the iniquity, oh
my, the mountains, the mountains upon mountains of iniquity, upon
iniquity, in one day He will take it all away. Yes, he will. Who did such a thing as that?
The Lamb of God taketh away the sin of the world. The custom
of putting inscriptions upon the foundation stones was practiced
in the days of the pharaohs. The royal stamp would be impressed upon each
brick that was going to go into a particular building. So when
they would see that inscription, that stamp, they would know what
Pharaoh that was erected to in the honor of. Well here we have
the royal stamp, the seal of the King of Kings. The King of
Kings himself, the Church of God, has inscribed on its foundation
this seal. The Lord knows those that are
His. Isn't that a sweet thought? He
knows. He knows you, brother. He knows
you, sister. Oh, He's always known you. There's never been a time that
He didn't. The Lord knows those that are
His. The stiller stamp on the elect
of God is this, He knows you. And that doesn't mean He has
knowledge of you, it means He loves you. Who He foreknew, He
foreloved. He foreloved. He loved with an
everlasting love. There's never been a time that
God didn't love you. Now Houston, you don't have enough
gray matter. And neither do I. Neither do
any of us to get much of a grasp of that, do we? Oh, but my, so
isn't it sweet? Isn't it comforting? God has
loved this sinner with an everlasting love. But Zion said, And sometimes
we have thought it, said it. The Lord hath forsaken me, and
my Lord hath forgotten me. And this is our Lord's answer
to that. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should
not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget,
yet will not I forget you. I will never forget you. Behold,
I have graven you upon the palms of My hands. Thy walls are continually
before Me. I'm always in His heart. I'm
always in His hand." of the everlasting God. This knowledge God has for
His church is much more, as I said, than a mere awareness of their
existence. The knowledge of God is this.
He loved us and He chose us, predestinated us unto eternal
life. The Lord had appeared of old
unto me, Jeremiah wrote, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Therefore, Therefore, God says,
I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, I'm just going
to stand back and watch you go to hell. I've loved you with
an everlasting love. Therefore, I'm not going to do
anything to rescue you. What kind of love is that? God
saved me from such so-called love as that. No, he says, therefore,
with loving kindness, I have drawn thee. All that the Father
giveth me, Christ said, shall come to me. The Father shall
draw them, draw them to the Son. The Lord said, or we read rather
in John 13 verse 1, you know this. Now before the feast of
the Passover, when Jesus knew, when Jesus knew that His hour
was come, that He should depart out of this world unto His Father,
He knew that the hour was come. Shortly after this, he would
pray, Father, the hour has now come. Father, not my will, but
Thine be done. The hour had come. Something
that had never happened would never happen again. God forsaken
of God. I don't understand that. God
said concerning His Son that He was with me from eternity.
He was daily my delight. When I put the stars in heaven,
He was there. When I put the planets in their
course, He was there. I was daily before Him. He Himself
testified, this is My Son in whom I am well pleased. He told
His disciples this night, You'll all forsake me, and you'll leave
me alone. And yet I'm not alone, because
my Father is with me." And after that he said, "'My God, why hast
thou forsaken me?' Jesus, knowing that all that was coming upon
him, had all of that before him, was thinking of his sheep." In John 17, His high priestly
prayer, He doesn't mention our sin one time. Father, keep them. Father, love them. Father, preserve
them. Father, make them one. It was
all about them. Having loved His own which were
in the world, He loved them until the end. What a blessed, blessed
thought. You remember, you parents, your
mothers especially, And I remember saying this to my children when
they were young, especially those two boys. I said, man, I can't
let you out of my sight. I mean, I turn my back for one
minute and you're in trouble. Well, thank God, the Lord Jesus
Christ says to you and I, his children, his sheep, You're never
out of my sight. You are never out of my sight. I know who you are. I know how
you are. I know where you are. It is well. It is well. We're always within
His sight. What saith the Word of God? I
have reserved unto myself 7,000 men." When Elijah was having
that pity party and said, I'm the only one left. Oh no, there
is a remedy. According to the election of
grace, there was in Elijah's day, there was in Paul's day,
and there is in your day. That's why the world stands.
Christ is still calling out His sheep. What a comfort that the
Lord knows those that are His. He owns them. He loves them. He approves of them in His blessed
Son. And Christ intercedes for them
that their faith fail not. And God always answers the prayers
of His people. This is one of my favorite passages.
I suspect it might be yours as well. In Isaiah chapter 43, Listen
to this, the first two verses. But now, now, wherever now finds
you, now, it doesn't change this. Thus saith the Lord that created
thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for
I have redeemed thee. Oh, redemption must be worth
something. Fear not, I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy
name. Thou art mine. Thou art mine. And because you've been redeemed,
because you're mine, because you've been bought with the price,
hear this. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
will not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee." I like what he said there. When you pass through,
not destroyed in the midst of, when you pass through, I found
this poem by a lady named Annie Joseph Flint reminding me of
this passage I just read to you from Isaiah 43. This dear lady
became an invalid just barely out of her teenage years. was
in a wheelchair all of her life. To read her poems or hymns, you
would have never guessed that. One of her most famous, I suppose,
is He Giveth More Grace. But she also wrote this, But through. That's what we just
read. Someone said, if God brings you
to it, He'll bring you through it. And has He not done so? Has He not always done so? Oh,
I don't know what I'm going to do. Well, Jesus knows what He
will do. That's what Philip said, didn't
he? He asked Philip, where are we going to buy bread that all
these may eat? And this he said to prove Him,
because Jesus knew what He would do. He always does. He does in your case. He knows
exactly what he's going to do. Let me get this wrapped up. A couple of years ago, my dear
mother turned 90 years old. And this was two years ago. And
she's still here. But her nine children, we're
all still here. So my sisters got in touch with
all of us and we're, man, got a sister in Idaho, I'm in Alabama,
my oldest brother in Ohio, one in Virginia, just spread out.
And they said, we're going to have a surprise birthday party
for mom. And we want you there. We said,
of course, of course. Rob and I went in a few days
early and we got a motel room. We stayed here because the town
my mom lives in is a little old place. We didn't want to bump
into her because we were hiding out until the day of the surprise
birthday party. Well, she came to this place
at the country club like we ate at today, Daryl. They rented
a room there, the dining area. And my mom thought she was just
coming there for lunch. And one of my sisters was bringing
her up the stairs. And when she came in, oh there must have been 100 people
at least. And there were all nine of her
children standing there in front of everybody. And when she saw
him, she was almost overcome. She just put her hand over her
mouth and just started weeping. to see them all there. Totally
surprised. Listen to this child of God and
then I'll be done. I'm reading from Zephaniah chapter
3 verse 17. Listen to this amazing verse
of scripture. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice
over you. We're all brought around the
throne of God. Oh, I can only imagine how we'll
rejoice. But we're told that He'll rejoice.
We're going to rejoice over Him. He's going to rejoice over us.
Isn't that something? I will save. He will rejoice
over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He
will joy over thee with singing. Isn't that something? That old
hymn that I referred to earlier says, that soul that to Jesus
has fled for repose, he will not, he will not desert to its
foes. That soul, though all hell, should
endeavor to shake, he will never, he will never, he will never
forsake. The foundation of God stands
sure. God bless you. It's been a pleasure
to be with you today. Let's sing the song that was
mentioned to us several times, number 268 in your handbook.